Michael Kvist Nielsen

Researcher and Software developer with interests in UX and business understanding

Phone: (+45) 31766208

Personal profile

I hold a MSc. In Informatics from Aalborg University. I am from Aalborg and currently live there as well. I see myself as a person which core competences that lie in the intersection between the design and development of software. It is in this field that I thrive.

Currently I am interested in two types and work. The most obvious one would be software development. In my current position i work with both front- and backend development. I have a lot of practical experience with native mobile apps and web development in general which combined with an understanding of what the user wants result in logic and easy to use systems. The other type and job that I am interested is consultation. My education has targeted this type og work, and I hold skills in communications, organization and IT project management. I am especially interested in how systems can be designed and integrated within organizations.

Personally I am very dedicated to what i do. I enjoy new challenges, learning and responsibility, so I can develop new competences. I have no problems dealing with stressful situations and I work well individually as well as in teams. I am also a very social person, and i enjoy a good laugh. In my spare time I use my time with my girlfriend, my daughter, family, friends. I also enjoy cooking, playing music(sax and guitaer), sports(running) and my own small software projects(see below for details).

Publications

Eco-Forecasting for Domestic Electricity Use

Over the past decade we have seen an increased awareness about domestic energy consumption and a growing focus on eco-feedback displays. In this paper we explore the concept of providing forecasts in such displays as a supplement to information about past usage. Our prototype, eForecast, extends the display of past electricity usage with forecasts about expected usage, electricity price, availability of wind power, and expected demand drops and peaks. Building on previous eco-feedback display research, our approach specifically enables people to use electricity at more opportune times -- when it is cheap, green, or when there is an abundance of capacity. We evaluated eForecast in real world use in three domestic households for 22 weeks, where we explored potentials and limitations of forecasting for shifting electricity consumption. In this way, families were able to act in a more sustainable way -- without necessarily reducing the amount of electricity consumed.

Facilitating Flexible Electricity Use in the Home with Eco-Feedback and Eco-Forecasting

Over the last decade there has been an increased focus on changing domestic electricity consumption behaviors. While the usual approach has been to facilitate reduced consumption, recent work has started looking at facilitating more flexible electricity use as a means of shifting consumption to more favorable times. This approach means that people may behave more sustainably without necessarily using less electricity. Exploring this emerging approach, this paper presents a study of flexibility in domestic electricity use as facilitated by an eco-feedback system with forecast information about price, availability of green energy, and grid demand. The prototype system was deployed in three households for 22 weeks. Our findings show that flexible electricity use is far from trivial to achieve in domestic households. The details of this is relevant for understanding people’s ability and willingness to shift electricity consumption,

The design, implementation, and field study of PowerViz, an always-on eco-feedback display,intended to increase consumers’ awareness about electricity usage at an appliance level consumption. This project was published at several conferences.

Education

MSc. in Informatics - Aalborg University

2012 - 2014

Following Information Technology and Computer Science I took a MSc. In Informatics. The education is primarily concerned with the coupling between the programmatic and the design aspect of IT systems. I have been through this education gained a broad knowledge of what is technically feasible and what constitutes useful and logic systems.

Bsc. in Computer Science - Aalborg University

2011 - 2012

After my bachelor's degree in information technology, I took a half years(one semester) in computer science to acquire a more technical and theoretical knowledge in IT. Computer Science has given me a greater understanding of the practical implementation of IT systems along with the theoretical foundation that is their foundation.

Bsc. in Information Technology - Aalborg University

2008 - 2011

I have through my B.Sc. in information technology gained threefold knowledge of IT, communications and business integration. Course content has enabled me to have an overview of what it means in practice to design, implement, communicate and sell IT systems. I have during the study also gained knowledge about how IT can and should be integrated into cooperation and how project management can play a crucial role in this. In short, my B.Sc. has given me an insight into what can be solved by IT, how it fits into an organization and how it can be implemented in an orderly and tidily manner.

Key skills

Programming experience in several languages and platforms. Both front- and backend

Design and user involvement to make user friendly, easy to use systems. with focus on usability and user experience

IT-management and development methods

System organization integration - through analysis we can create better systems that fit the needs in a better way

Languages

Danish (Fluently)

English (Fluently)

Development related skills

Scrum and Xp

Traditional development

Requirements specification

Analysis and design of software

UX and Usability

Experience design

Programming experience (by level)

JavaScript

Sencha Ext/ Touch 2 and Ionic

Native HTML 5 and Cordova

.NET C#, WebAPI

MySQL and MSSQL

Native Android and JAVA

Native iOS and Objective C

Native Windows Phone C#

Twitter bootstrap

TypeScript

PHP

Python

Experience(work)

Aalborg University - Research Assistent (Current)

2015-2016

Supervising students and doing research within the field of HCI.

Logicmedia A/S - Developer

2014-2015

Developing mobile apps for inspecting residential areas. Here i am lead programmer on the app iFoto+. The main programming languages used were JavaScript and C# .Net. In accommodation to this I used Sencha Touch and Cordova as a framework for building native mobile HTML 5 apps. In my current position i have close relations to other development teams in our sister company (located in southern Jutland), that assist us with data services.

IVA Aalborg - Teaching Assistent

2014-2015

In charge of the HTML 5, CSS 3 and JavaScript course. First of all I was in charge og planning the course and writing my own teaching material. Secondly I was in charge of teaching students, thereby giving them an understanding of how to build basic websites.

IVA Aalborg - IT-Support og consulting

2010-2014

Supporting students, employees, maintaining computers and software. My job gave me the daily responsibility for the daily maintenance and operation of IT at IVA in Aalborg. Beside that it has given me a knowledge about Windows/Linux based servers and clients. I have been responsible to small programming assignments, that has given me knowledge about C#, Java and scripting. Beside that I have advised students and employees about the usage and acquisition of new systems.

Bone´s Aalborg - Manager

2003 - 2013

During my time at Bone's in Aalborg I have been in charge of looking after the daily operation of the restaurant. Here I worked some time in the kitchen. Later I worked in the restaurant where I were in charge of the arrival of guests. In both situations I have developed my leader and people skills. It also required a constant overview to avoid stressful situations. One of the main things that I have learned is the importance of having a great team.

Programming portfolio (ongoing)

OplevDanmark(Current)

Platforms: iOS and Android

My current sparetime project is an app that makes the task of finding experiences in Denmark easier. These experiences include amusement parks, spectacular sightings etc. The app is developed natively for iOS and Android with a backend written in PHP. I am also investegating the possibility of porting it to an web app using the Ionic framework.

iFoto+

Platforms: iOS, Windows Phone and Android

iFoto+ is an app that makes inspecting leases easier by giving the inspector a possibility to take pictures on the fly as he discovers flaws when a tenant moves out. The app was developed for Logicmedia. It was implemented as a webapp using Sencha Touch and incased in a cordova shell with native features for iOS/Windows Phone/Android. The app draws data from a backend written in C# .NET WebAPI which talks to various REST/SOAP webservices supplied by our partners.

PowerViz

Platforms: Android

PowerViz was developed during my master's thesis (for more information see under the "noticeable student projects" section). The application was essentially a display to show relevant information about household electricity consumption. The system was developed using a webapp developed in Typescript and HAXE, cased in an Android shell. Features from the app is currently used in research at Aalborg University.

Fest'i'Dall

Platforms: iOS and Android

An app for the Danish festival Fest'i'Dall, with access to relevant information. The app is now deprecated.

SimpleMoodleLookup

Platforms: iOS and Android

An app for students at AAU to access their study information through Moodle, Aalborg University's online schedule and administration website. The app is now deprecated.

Noticable student projects

The design, implementation, and field study of PowerViz, an always-on eco-feedback display,intended to increase consumers’ awareness about electricity usage at an appliance level consumption. This project was published at several conferences. OzCHI 2014 and CHI 2015 - Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems.

Heading towards redefining the admittance of international students at Aalborg University (Bachelor)

Graded A(12)

This project focused on redefining the rather bureaucratic and manual admittance process of international students at Aalborg University. The project came with suggestion to how a more automated process could be defined and maintained through Business Process Management and respect for the academic skilled staff involved in the process.

Statements

Statements from various employers will not be posted on this website, but can be obtained by request (write an e-mail)